The destroyed fuselage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is visible on the runway at San Francisco International Airport after it crashed on landing and burned on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

The destroyed fuselage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is visible on...

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Firefighters Todd Plunkett (left) and Lt. David Brown work at Fire Station No. 1, the second unit on the scene of the crash.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Firefighters Todd Plunkett (left) and Lt. David Brown work at Fire...

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The destroyed fuselage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is visible on the runway at San Francisco International Airport after it crashed on landing and burned on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

The destroyed fuselage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is visible on...

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This photo provided by Krista Seiden shows smoke rising from what a federal aviation official says was an Asiana Airlines flight crashing while landing at San Francisco airport on Saturday, July 6, 2013. It was not immediately known whether there were any injuries. (AP Photo/Krista Seiden)

Photo: Krista Seiden, Associated Press

This photo provided by Krista Seiden shows smoke rising from what a...

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An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco fire battalion chief at the scene of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco...

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Smokes rises from Asiana Flight 214 after it crashed at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: John Green, AP

Smokes rises from Asiana Flight 214 after it crashed at San...

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An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco fire battalion chief at the scene of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco...

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An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco fire battalion chief at the scene of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco...

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An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco fire battalion chief shows the moment firefighting rig Rescue 37 struck the body of Ye Meng Yuan, 16, (obscured) as it was leaving the scene of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 to retrieve more water at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco...

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David Eun, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., was a passenger aboard Asiana Airlines flight 214 that crashed at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, July 7, 2013. He published this photograph and comment to his Path account and subsequently shared it to his Twitter feed. A screenshot shows how his content appeared on Path.

David Eun, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics Co....

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Fire crews pour water and foam on an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed while it was attempting to land from Seoul, South Korea at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Fire crews pour water and foam on an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777...

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An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco fire battalion chief at the scene of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 shows a firefighter covering the body of passenger Ye Meng Yuan at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco...

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People view the wreckage of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed while it was attempting to land from Seoul, South Korea at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

People view the wreckage of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that...

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An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco fire battalion chief at the scene of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco...

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The destroyed fuselage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is visible on the runway at San Francisco International Airport after it crashed on landing and burned on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

The destroyed fuselage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is visible on...

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An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco fire battalion chief at the scene of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

An image from the helmet-mounted video camera of a San Francisco...

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A team of emergency responders walk on the runway past the tail of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed while attempting to land at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

A team of emergency responders walk on the runway past the tail of...

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Potential victims of the Asiana plane crash cover their faces as they are lead by security out of the Reflection Room in the North Wing of the International Terminal at SFO in San Francisco, CA on July 6th, 2013.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

Potential victims of the Asiana plane crash cover their faces as...

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Abbie Smith and Patrick Bevin, hug in International terminal as they wait for flights at San Francisco airport even as operations have reopened two runways in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday July 6, 2013. Smith's flight back to New Zealand has been delayed eight hours so far due to the crash. The investigation into the crash of Asiana Airlines flight 214 continues.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Abbie Smith and Patrick Bevin, hug in International terminal as...

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SFPD officers stand guard in front of the Reflection Room, where potential victims of the Asiana plane crash and their families are being held in the North Wing of the International Terminal at SFO in San Francisco, CA on July 6th, 2013.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

SFPD officers stand guard in front of the Reflection Room, where...

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Scenes from SF general where patients from the Boeing 777 crash are being brought in on Saturday, July 06, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Rohan Smith, The Chronicle

Scenes from SF general where patients from the Boeing 777 crash are...

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A young passenger from the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 which crashed while it was attempting to land at San Francisco International Airport is escorted out of the Reflection Room in San Francisco International Airport where flight passengers are being held on July 6, 2013.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

A young passenger from the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 which crashed...

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Emergency personnel assist passengers to transportation at the International terminal in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday July 6, 2013, following the earlier crash of Asiana Airlines flight 214 at SFO.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Emergency personnel assist passengers to transportation at the...

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Crowds of travelers expecting to board outgoing flights with Asiana Airlines are relocated to hotels due to flight cancellations on July 6, 2013 in San Francisco International Airport.

Photo: Katie Meek, The Chronicle

Crowds of travelers expecting to board outgoing flights with Asiana...

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Vedpa Singh, a passenger aboard the Boeing 777 that crash landed at San Francisco International Airport, talks with the media while looking for his family in San Francisco, Calif. on July 6, 2013.

The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted photos of their investigation of Asiana airliner crash at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Photo: NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted photos of their...

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In this handout photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, oxygen masks hang from the ceiling in the cabin interior of Asiana Airlines flight 214 following yesterday's crash, on July 7, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The Boeing 777 passenger aircraft from Asiana Airlines coming from Seoul, South Korea crashed landed on the runway at San Francisco International Airport. Two people died and dozens were injured in the crash.

Photo: Handout, Getty Images

In this handout photo provided by the National Transportation...

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Parents of Wang Linjia, center, are comforted by parents of some other students who were on the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that crashed at San Francisco International Airport, at Jiangshan Middle School in Jiangshan city, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Sunday July 7, 2013. Chinese state media have identified the two people who died in the plane crash at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday as Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, students at Jiangshan Middle School in China's eastern Zhejiang province.

Photo: Uncredited, Associated Press

Parents of Wang Linjia, center, are comforted by parents of some...

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San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee listens as Deborah Hersman, Chairman of the NTSB, speaks about Flight 214's crash at SFO during a press conference on Sunday. San Francisco International Airport, city officials and National Transportation Safety Board members detailed the investigation into the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at a press conference at SFO on Sunday, July 7, 2013, in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee listens as Deborah Hersman, Chairman of...

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The crashed fuselage of Flight 214 is seen below a KLM flight coming in for a landing on Monday, July 8, 2013 at San Francisco International Airport.

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

The crashed fuselage of Flight 214 is seen below a KLM flight...

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NTSB Aerospace Engineer Greg Smith receives the recorders from the Asiana 777-200 in the NTSB laboratory on the morning of July 7, 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Photo: NTSB

NTSB Aerospace Engineer Greg Smith receives the recorders from the...

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Asiana Airlines President and CEO Yoon Young-doo, left, greets unidentified family members of two Chinese students killed in an Asiana Airlines plane crash on Saturday at San Francisco International Airport, at the transit lounge of the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 8, 2013.

Photo: Associated Press

Asiana Airlines President and CEO Yoon Young-doo, left, greets...

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An unidentified family member of one of two Chinese students killed in a crash of an Asiana Airlines' plane on Saturday, cries at the airline's counter as she and other family members check in for a flight to San Francisco, at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Monday, July 8, 2013. The Asiana flight crashed upon landing Saturday, at San Francisco International Airport, and two of the 307 passengers aboard were killed.

Photo: Eugene Hoshiko, Associated Press

An unidentified family member of one of two Chinese students killed...

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People gather to mourn for the two victims of the Asiana airline plane crash in San Francisco at a park in Jiangshan city in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Monday, July 8, 2013. Chinese state media and Asiana Airlines have identified the two victims of the Asiana Airlines crash at San Francisco International Airport girls as Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, students in Zhejiang, an affluent coastal province in eastern China.

Photo: Associated Press

People gather to mourn for the two victims of the Asiana airline...

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Ye Mengyuan, left, and Wang Linjia, right, pose for photos with other classmates in the classroom in Jiangshan city in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Chinese state media and Asiana Airlines have identified the two victims of the Asiana Airlines crash at San Francisco International Airport girls as Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, students in Zhejiang, an affluent coastal province in eastern China.

Photo: Associated Press

Ye Mengyuan, left, and Wang Linjia, right, pose for photos with...

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Asiana Airlines official Tae Han is questioned by reporters at San Francisco International Airport on Monday, July 8, 2013.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Asiana Airlines official Tae Han is questioned by reporters at San...

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Crowne Plaza Hotel employees and others hold up umbrellas to block views of family members and survivors of the Asiana Airlines crash that are staying at the hotel in Burlingame, Calif. on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. A large curtain was later erected to block further visability.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Crowne Plaza Hotel employees and others hold up umbrellas to block...

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Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman addressed the press to give more details of the NTSB's investigation in the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in South San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, July 10, 2013.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah...

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Cabin Manager Lee Yoon-hye (right), comforts other flight attendants from Asiana Airlines Flight 214, at a brief news conference at SFO in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, July 10, 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Cabin Manager Lee Yoon-hye (right), comforts other flight...

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The charred cabin interior of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in a photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board on July 11, 2013.

Photo: -, NTSB

The charred cabin interior of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in a photo...

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The debris field from Asiana Airlines Flight 214 debris field in a photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board on July 11, 2013. All debris has been removed from the runway and the runway released to airport.

Photo: -, NTSB

The debris field from Asiana Airlines Flight 214 debris field in a...

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A charred emergency exit door is seen on the wrecked fuselage of Asiana Airlines flght 214 as it sits in a storage area at San Francisco International Airport on July 12, 2013 in San Francisco, California. Nearly one week after Asiana Airlines flight 214 crash landed at San Francisco International Airport, the wrecked fuselage was moved from the runway. Two people died in the crash and hundreds were injured.

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

A charred emergency exit door is seen on the wrecked fuselage of...

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The wrecked fuselage of Asiana Airlines flght 214 sits in a storage area at San Francisco International Airport on July 12, 2013 in San Francisco, California. Nearly one week after Asiana Airlines flight 214 crash landed at San Francisco International Airport, the wrecked fuselage was moved from the runway. Two people died in the crash and hundreds were injured.

Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

The wrecked fuselage of Asiana Airlines flght 214 sits in a storage...

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The remains of Asiana Airlines flight 214, as seen on Saturday July 13, 2013, in San Francisco, Calif. The aircraft has been moved to the north end of San Francisco International Airport.

The remains of Asiana Airlines flight 214, as seen on Saturday July...

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The burned interior of Asiana Airlines flight 214, as seen on Saturday July 13, 2013, in San Francisco, Calif. The aircraft has been moved to the north end of at San Francisco International Airport.

The burned interior of Asiana Airlines flight 214, as seen on...

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The remains of Asiana Airlines flight 214, as seen on Saturday July 13, 2013, in San Francisco, Calif. The aircraft and many parts have been moved to the north end of San Francisco International Airport.

The remains of Asiana Airlines flight 214, as seen on Saturday July...

San Francisco airport officials had purchased heat sensing equipment that experts say might have prevented a 16-year-old Asiana Airlines victim from being hit by a fire rig, but the infrared technology to detect and map obstacles was not acquired for the rig that ran over the girl.

Ye Meng Yuan, a student from China, was covered with fire retardant foam when she was hit by at least one of the airport's rigs shortly after the plane crashed on landing on July 6. On Friday, the San Mateo county coroner said Ye was alive when she was hit by the rig.

The two-axle truck is believed to have run her over as it moved to get a better position to spray foam on the fire, police investigators have said. The older-model engine - No. 37 - did not have infrared forward-looking imaging technology now required by federal law, fire officials acknowledge. Other airport rigs are equipped with the technology.

The system measures heat given off from objects on the ground as well as hot spots left in burning debris. The equipment is designed to detect objects that are otherwise invisible in fog, smoke and debris. It is especially vital on giant airport rigs, which are difficult to see around because of their size.

In 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration urged - but did not require - that U.S. aircraft rescue firefighting rigs be equipped with the infrared cameras. Such sensing technology has long been available. In 2011, the FAA required all new rigs to have forward-looking infrared sensing equipment to alert drivers to obstacles.

San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White confirmed Sunday that some rigs at the airport did not have the equipment fully installed. She did not know if the equipment on hand - which she believes was purchased before 2011 - could have played a role in possibly preventing Ye's death.

"I don't know one way or the other. I don't know enough about the technology," she said.

Hayes-White said the rigs in the airport's arsenal were purchased before the FAA requirements were in place.

The system the airport ordered from a Canadian maker allows the driver to see a real-time map of upcoming obstacles created with an infrared thermal imager.

Hayes-White said the airport has always been cooperative in procuring new equipment.

"We tell them what we like, what we need and what is required. They are very good about paying for it," she said.

Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Dale Carnes said Sunday that the department is in the process of installing the Driver's Enhanced Vision System on three of its other airport rescue firefighting rigs.

He said multiple agencies are involved in the installation process and he did not know when it would be completed.

"It's basically designed for inclement weather, to navigate safely."

Carnes said he did not know whether the system would have been able to prevent Ye's death. "That would be complete conjecture," he said.

But a veteran FAA airport safety expert turned consultant said the system is designed to do just that - avoid hitting people.

"Had the person been alive - the foam has a cooling action, but the body would still have given off some ambient heat that could have been visible," said Ben Castellano, who was acting manager of airport safety when he left the agency in 2009 after 34 years.

As for detecting humans, Castellano said: "That was the main purpose of the development" of the technology.

In this situation, he said, the conditions that could have made the technology useful "lined up together."